The Bishop
The Bishop is a character appearing in Stronghold 2. He is also featured as an AI opponent in the Deluxe version's Kingmaker mode. Appearance and personality The Bishop is an aged man, who wears a light, white robe and a bishop's mitre. Sometimes he is seen wearing a more detailed church robe with various imprintings on it. He does not wield any weapons. The Bishop is a naturally very religious man, who devotes his life to the church. He controls an army in the light of God, threatening any enemies with excommunication and extermination, if they not comply. The Bishop rejects heresy and is poised to deliver justice, cleansing the land from impurity. He is formal in style and is not easily deterred. Biography The Bishop is in charge of the Catholic church, working at Lady Seren's Abbey. He is responsible for control, as well as holding the ceremonies necessary for the church. Path of War The Blue Path The Bishop appears as a defendant of the King's legitimate rule. When Lord Barclay attempts to siege the Abbey, the Bishop takes measures to undermine his efforts. He leads a mission and successfully retrieves and safeguards the Holy Scepter, one of the most important ceremonial tools, which is necessary to coronate the next king. The Green Path Lord Barclay and Matthew Steele attack the Abbey, killing Lady Seren and threatening the church's lands. The Bishop appears ready to sign the pact of Barclay, who tries to usher himself in as new king. However, Steele intervenes and forces a new edict that declares one king, if they present the crown to the church. Barclay reluctantly approves. The attack on the Abbey causes uprisings in the country. While the Hawk is busy making an end to them, Barclay uses the church to denounce the King and declare him a heretic. The church also holds the ceremony for Steele's coronation in the end. Castles and strategies The Bishop is a moderately aggressive opponent, who relies on his economy more than any other character. He makes use of leather armour and the power of the church to prevail. Castle The Bishop surrounds his territory with a tight walling and a single small gatehouse. His designs have no towers, however he builds simple thick walls on the corners, atop which he stations crossbowmen. The castle itself is hard to run over with units, as the entirety of the outside is surrounded by moat and lots of spike traps. Economy The Bishop's economy is all-round, featuring a low number of quarries and mines. He produces most food outside bread and heavily uses religion to provide high taxes. He is most reliant on weapons production, not buying in weapons at all. He also builds the Lord's kitchen and supplies it with wine. Unit compositions The Bishop uses a small variety of barracks units. He likes to operate from short range and uses cheap troops backed with an extensive weapons production. *Defense: crossbowman (guarding walls), maceman (guarding spots) *Harassment/estate force: maceman, catapult *Offense: spearman, crossbowman, maceman, catapult, trebuchet, mantlet How to deal with Defense Have a number of archers and swordsmen ready. Instruct your troops to engage macemen. Crossbowmen will be too slow to catch up and operate, so just take out them outside their range. The catapults and the lone trebuchet can be disposed of by your archers and wandering units. Offense Since the Bishop builds tightly, you will have to face almost everyone in the castle. Thankfully, they are not that many and the castle lacks defensive engines. A ladder attack is convenient, but sacrifices some soldiers. Bring some cats and a good-sized army. Pick a corner (yes, to attract as few crossbowmen as possible) and start digging. Send in a few spearmen or armed peasants beforehand to trigger traps. When a section is cleared, move in with melee troops to kill the guards, then scale the walls with your missile troops. Then fire at will and move in for the kill. Quotes For the Bishop's quotes see: /Quotes Trivia *The Bishop's lord animation does not include a sprite when he is fighting, therefore he always appears as idle. The lord turning to attacking soldiers will indicate that he is fighting. *The Bishop has a similar voice to Sir Grey. The Bishop